In the end, Beef, Hallow, Isla, Felix, Pit, and a very insistent Vess chose to stay. The last had been hotly contested by Darius, of course, but something had changed between the two of them. From the time they'd first entered the Shadowgate til now, Felix noticed the Hand had kept himself at a distance from the Heiress of Pax'Vrell. He'd busied himself with the training of Felix's forces, putting a ton of his energy into refining their Skills. The two of them had traded a few choice words, some frustrated glares, and it all resolved in the bear of a man stomping off toward the neatly ordered soldiers near the gate. She had glided toward him, her own emotions in a flurry that Felix could read without even trying. "Vess," he started, before she cut him off. "Are you going to tell me to go as well?" "Ah, no. If you want to stay and help, that's your choice. Whichever path we choose right now, we're all headed into danger. And...I imagine this threat has more of a hold on you." The woman's dark expression faded as he had spoken, until anger mellowed into appreciation. "Felix. Thank you." "Thank you, for wanting to help." He turned to the rest. "That goes for all of you." Beef shrugged, his big, hair shoulders jostling the stone and crystal form of Hallow. "I'm interested in finding out the source of this Fathom thing. Plus, as cool as PVP, faction warfare sounds, I'm thinking it'll be better to stick by you. I've gained so many Skill levels these last few days, makes me feel like I wasted so much time." "Time is not wasted when caution is the watchword. It is merely bided and hoarded, carefully," Isla said. "I too wish to fight. This form has grown much, and while we cannot control as many as before, we can still form a larger force," Hallow said in that strange, multi-throated voice of hers. Her Multipede form was out in the water, swimming cautiously near the Naga that had gathered. "The Nagafolk are intriguing. I wish to claim their dead." "Oh hey, Hallow. We talked about this," Beef said, looking briefly distressed. "Some thoughts are like, inside thoughts only." "Ah. Of course." Hallow shifted. "I will keep them inside, then." "Thanks." Felix shook his head. She had grown. It was perhaps four feet tall now, and its limbs at been refined, looking more and more like bulging muscles for all that they were made of rock. However, her personality was still...odd. "I had intended for you to rebuild those ships when you reached the other side, Beef. Are you positive your...workaround will function as intended?" "Oh yeah. It's a new Skill but Zara said that the gate thingy should amplify my control. With the new levels we gained, we can manage one long range form." Beef scratched his jaw. "For a little bit." "Hopefully long enough to do what we need." Felix drummed his fingers against the hilt of his hooked blade. "The plan is to get this wrapped up as soon as possible and then we'll be heading through the Shadowgate as well. But by then, I imagine the main force will be well on their way to Haarwatch." "I cannot help but feel disappointed I am not experiencing such a wondrous device, but Zara is correct. If you Unbound are staying, then I need to be there for you when you fall." Isla stared at the humming Shadowgate, her Spirit silent but her face betraying her longing. "Then again, I imagine I'll have a chance to inspect it once we pass through, later on. Now, how long do you expect this endeavor to take us?" "As long as we need," Pit chirruped. Isla shot him an irritated frown, but he only tilted his big bird head, triangular-tuft ears twitching. "Will they be fine?" Felix followed his Companion's gaze, looking not only at the soldiers that were lining up in rows nearest the Shadowgate, but at the others that lingered behind them. Husbands and wives, mothers and fathers and children too, all the civilians that were either related directly to those that joined his army, or simply could no longer stand to live in Ahkestria. Many of them huddled close to one another, fear wafting from their Spirits in a variety of flavors. A sharp fear of the Naga, a dull unease around the Frost Giants that loomed above all their forces, and a cloying sense of overwhelming anxiety as they stared at the swirling depths of the Shadowgate. His stomach lurched just a touch, feeling their worries a bit too fully, before he closed off his Affinity. "They'll be safer in my Stronghold. The Hierocracy will have to burn through Haarwatch before they can even think about attacking there." "And...that's not gonna happen, right?" Pit asked. "No, bud. Cal is gonna stomp them in to the mud." Felix spread his awareness outward. "Everyone get your stuff and some healing supplies. Stock up. I dunno what we'll need but it's better than needing it and not having it." Felix walked off before they could ask him more questions. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer them, but it was a distraction. His Perception flagged the people he was looking for, and Felix pivoted and cut through the mob. Everyone moved out of his way without his asking, which was nice so long as he ignored their expressions. Serpens, giants, and gates weren't the only thing they feared. "Felix! What's this I hear about you stayin' behind?" "Harn. Just who I wanted to see. Did Darius tell you?" "He did," Harn grunted. His helmet was off and he looked like he wanted to spit, but grimaced instead. "You made these floors too damn nice for a man to have a proper spit, kid." "Should I rough them up a little?" "Hrm. Not important." Harn gave him a kind look, his crooked nose and scarred face granting menace to even that. "I appreciate you not takin' Evie. Apart from all the worry she'd cause me, Cal's gonna want to see her when we get back." Felix nodded. "I wouldn't stand in the way of that. I've already told everyone that I'm not letting anyone else stay. I need Evie and all the rest to go onto Nagast. To lead." He looked around, at the soldiers that were hustling forward with the impromptu sleds carrying Manaship parts. "I need you to keep this army on the right path. You, Darius, and Zara are the commanders of the Claw. The results you and Darius achieved with them so far has been phenomenal, and the rest of the Legion needs the same treatment. Dawnwalkers and Risi Warriors too." Harn grunted. "A lotta work, but we'll make do. Having the Fiend's Claw as the spur will help. These kids have grown tremendously in the few weeks we've been gone, and I bet crowns to cores that they outstripped those that stayed behind." Felix agreed. Not counting the strange influence he seemed to be having on his allies and followers, the sheer amount of conflict they had encountered and endured was bound to press anyone through the ranks. "Harn, I trust you. Darius too. Maybe. You'll make it work." "Ah, he ain't so bad once you get past all that highbrow bullshit. Kid's a soldier, a warrior. He'll do the right thing." "Yeah. Yeah I think so too." Felix smiled and stuck out his hand. "Good luck, and stay safe." Harn clasped him hard around the forearm. "Aye, Felix. You too." Felix made his way around, speaking with a few select people. As much as Harn and Darius had beaten a sense of unity into his army, they were still fairly cliquey, especially among the Henaari and Frost Giants. He hunted down the Dawnwalkers and spoke to a fair chunk of them, advising them of what he expected when they returned. He did the same with Battlelord Ari, the war leader of the Frost Giants. The reaction was just the same. "As you Will, my Lord Autarch." When he reached Alister and Atar, the reception was a bit different. "What do you mean, you're staying? And you didn't ask me?" Atar paused, tucking his white hair behind his ears. "Not that I would. I'm happy to leave this watery grave behind." "I would like to stay," Alister said, grasping his rapier at the hilt. "I imagine the effort to fight underwater would be illuminating to the application of force magic." "And I imagine that fighting underwater is a good way to get killed." Atar shuddered. "Besides, there will be plenty of effort in the upcoming battles. Battalions worth of Inquisitors and Paladins...isn't that what Karys said?" Felix nodded. "It is. Given Cal's time to prepare and enhanced the defenses of Haarwatch, I can't imagine they'll have an easy time of it." "Depends on what they bring with them." Atar sighed. "Same is true for us, though. You have that Den Core?" "Gave it to Zara already," Felix confirmed. "Use it. Use whatever you can to fight back, right?" "Right. You know this battle is going to be harder without you," Atar said, far more gently than he might have, once upon a time. "Aw, Atar. I'll miss you too." "Shut up. I mean it. You're a walking death array; wherever you fight, the enemy finds only Ruin." "I'll be along as soon as I can. Nagast are my people, but so are the Naga." "They're snakes," he said in a low voice, casting his glance back out the doorway toward where a dozen of the Nagafolk lingered. "They probably eat people." "So do I." Atar raised a finger, but his mouth just snapped shut. "Good point." Alister just gathered up Atar, grabbing both of his shoulders from behind. "Go and fix this issue, and we'll be waiting for you at the front line, Felix." Felix flashed a relieved smile at the both of them. "Thanks." Darius found Felix before he'd stepped ten feet from the mages. Had Felix's reflexes not been Tempered with the extreme weight of his stats, he'd have run right into the man. Not for the first time, Felix was reminded of his new height as he stared straight into the once-larger man's eyes. "Oh. Darius. You saved me the trouble; I was going to come find you." The man's face was...complicated. He had a traditionally handsome face; strong jaw, chiseled chin, all that. But the pieces of it were arranged oddly, or at least oddly to Felix. He'd never seen the man look nervous. "I know we have not always...seen eye to eye, Felix. I can appreciate what you are and what you are doing for these...people, but the Lady Dayne is important. More than you know. She must be protected, Felix." "Yeah, man. I don't intent to let her come to harm if I can help it, but she's her own person. With her own choices. I'm not going to make her go through the gate unless she wants to—" "No, you misunderstand," Darius said, slashing one of his large hands in front of himself. "She has trained to be a Dragoon since she started walking, Felix. She was born for it. No one else has taken so powerfully to the ancient Skills as she has; even I was only ever able to earn the Steps of the Drake." Darius sighed, and his Spirit let loose a sound like...helpless frustration. Felix almost took a step backward; this was a new side of the Hand of the Duke. "What are you saying?" he asked. "I am saying that she is a Dragoon, and your enemy is a dragon...or close enough as not to matter. When I say she must be protected, I mean that it is from herself. Watch her close, and do not let her risk herself for fruitless vengeance. Please." There was such a depth to the man's plea that Felix had to take him seriously. "I—yeah. I'll keep an eye on her. Why would she want venge—" "Lord Autarch! We are ready!" Zara shouted at him from across the chamber. The Shadowgate beside her was blurring with its tar-black darkness, now swirling faster than ever. "Darius, I have to take care of this. Tell me quick—" Felix looked back at the warrior, but found him already halfway through the lines of soldiers. All he did was make a simple handsign in the air. Brandishing their array stones once again, a vanguard of Felix's Shadows slipped through the gate ahead of the bulk of their people. Convincing them to travel with the main group hadn't been so much of a challenge as it was painful; ordering his Shadows away from him made all of them uncomfortable. Well, all of them except Felix himself. Behind the vanguard came the first wave of Claw members with Harn at their head, followed by Alister and Atar who stepped through the gate with fascination writ large across their faces. After that came more and more of the Claw, and even a soldier in battered red armor and glowing, blackened-green eyes that shambled close behind. Beef's lone Risen. On and on they came and Felix stood at the side, monitoring the gate along with Zara, watching row after row of his people vanish into inky darkness. "Felix," Zara said, as the first batch of civilians were swallowed by the Shadowgate. "I'll not mince words: I worry for this splitting of our forces." "I know it's not the wisest course of action, but it's the right one," Felix said, struggling to keep his voice level. He was tired of being questioned about it. "I'm not backing down from it either." "And I do not expect you to." Zara turned away from the procession and faced him. "Choice is sacrosanct. You know this. I dare say you have embraced it far more than any other outside my order. I wish only to urge caution, Felix. The Fathom. They feel ancient, and yet this Manawarping is newly made. I cannot help but question that discrepancy." Felix kept watching his people. If he was letting them go without him, the least he could do was see them off. "I'll keep that in mind, Zara. And I appreciate your caring, I really do." He paused, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "But are you sure you don't have any other Chanters lying around? Perhaps an enchanted bugle instead?" Zara smirked before turning back to face the crowd. "You will be fine with her. If you can handle the Archon, you can handle Isla."